The Adventurous Journey
by RainbowAurora17
Summary: While vacationing in Alaska, Charlie Chan is asked to help with a counterfeiting case. Unfortunately, before they could help, the Chan Clan are kidnapped during the night and abandoned in a forest. Can they find their way back to their father? For SailorWednesdayMercury.
1. Alaskan Vacation

**Chapter 1: Alaskan Vacation**

It was a beautiful summer afternoon in Alaska. At a large luxury hotel, known as the Aurora Hotel, the world famous detective, Charlie Chan, was vacationing along with his ten children, the Chan Clan.

While the great detective relaxed outside in a lounge chair, his youngest daughter and second youngest child, Mimi, was inside their hotel room giving the family dog, Chu-Chu, a bath, much to the Pekingese's dismay. In the meantime, the eighth child, Nancy, was inside a bedroom dining on a delicious fried fish.

Back outside, the eldest daughter and third eldest child, Suzie, was also sitting in a lounge chair knitting a nice, new red shirt while watching her four younger brothers, Alan, Tom, Flip, and Scooter, play baseball. Nearby, the fifth child, Anne, was practicing archery and making perfect bull's-eyes each time. Also nearby, the two eldest children and sons, Henry and Stanley, were at the hotel tennis court, playing a friendly game of tennis.

"Okay, Henry, serve!" Stanley called over to his brother.

"Alright," Henry hesitated, "but this time, don't hit the ball so hard."

"Okay, okay," Stanley said as he positioned himself. "Just serve!"

Despite his uncertainty, Henry gave the first serve…only for Stanley to hit the ball back too hard. The ball flew right over Henry's head and wound up hitting Anne in hers while she was aiming her next arrow thus causing her to accidentally fire her arrow at a baseball Flip was tossing and pin it to a tree.

"Hey, Anne!" Flip shouted to his older sister. "Watch it, will ya?"

"It wasn't my fault!" Anne argued, showing the tennis ball that hit her. "This ball hit me out of nowhere."

"Heh-heh," Stanley nervously chuckled as he walked over to retrieve his ball. "That was my fault. Sorry."

"Well, watch it next time, will ya?" Flip complained.

"Yeah, watch it," young Scooter agreed.

After returning the tennis ball to Stanley, Anne walked over to her other brothers. "Hey, since I'm here, can I play, too?"

"Anne," her older brother Alan jokingly said, "haven't you learned yet that baseball's a man's game?"

The feminist tomboy, not pleased with her brother's chauvinism, joked back. "Well, _you're_ playing, aren't you?"

"Oh, funny, funny," Alan sarcastically chuckled.

Having had enough of this squabbling, Suzie interrupted, "Alright, stop it, you two. Besides, Anne, shouldn't you be practicing for that upcoming archery tournament?"

"Alright, alright," Anne sighed. "Point well made."

"I still can't get over how you conned your way into getting nominated for that tournament," Alan said while crossing his arms.

"'Conned' is not the right word to use," Anne disagreed. "I prefer 'cleverly proven'."

Everyone paused for a moment and thought back to an event that took place some time before their current day.


	2. The Indian Festival

**Chapter 2: The Indian Festival**

Exactly one week before their present day, the Chan family had just arrived in the state of Alaska for a short vacation and decided to start it off by attending an Indian Festival that they luckily came in time for.

"Hey, this is great!" Flip smiled.

"Hey, look over there," the intelligent Tom pointed far over to his left. He, Alan, Anne, and Suzie looked over to see several guys, teens and older, firing bows and arrows inside a large tent.

"Looks like some sort of archery thing going on," Anne figured.

"Let's check it out," Alan suggested. The four middle children wondered over to watch.

"I'm gonna check out that game with the snakes!" the eager Flip dashed off.

"Wait for me, Chief!" Scooter followed.

"Scooter!" Mimi called. "Don't go near those snakes! They might poison you!" She chased after her little brother, whom obviously ignored her as he continued running after Flip. Their dog, Chu-Chu followed, barking.

"Hey, check out all those pies at that food stand!" Stanley pointed out.

"Pies?!" Nancy gasped with great excitement. "Do you think they have pumpkin? Or chocolate?"

"Let's find out! I'm starved!" Stanley raced over to the food stands with Nancy following.

"Stanley! Nancy!" Henry tried to stop his two hungry siblings, but failed. "Sheesh!" He decided to follow them to keep them out of trouble.

Charlie Chan merely watched as his kids all went off to enjoy themselves. "Have fun, children."

Before he could find something of interest to him, Chan was approached by a police officer.

"Pardon me," the policeman asked, "you're Mr. Chan, the famous detective, are you not?"

"Indeed," Charlie answered. "Is there a problem?"

As the police officer started to explain an important situation to the keen detective, the four middle children approached a judge near the arrow-shooting boys.

"Excuse me," Tom asked, "is there some sort of archery tournament going on?"

"Not quite," the judge explained. "You see, we're having a real archery tournament several weeks from now and this little game here is just for us to pick the best candidates to participate in the tournament."

"After all," a young man continued, "the better the archer, the better the competition for me."

"Hey!" Anne gasped. "You're Neil Lockster, one of the world's best athletes!"

"Wow! I heard you won the archery tournaments five years straight!" Alan added.

"And I'm going for six with this upcoming tournament," young Neil smiled with great pride. "Hey, would you guys like to play? You might qualify."

"Sure!" said Alan.

"Indubitably," replied Tom.

"Me too!" Anne begged. "Can I, please?"

Unfortunately, Mr. Lockster was rather reluctant. "Sorry, young miss. This is rather dangerous. You two ladies just sit and watch."

"What?!" Anne growled.

"Sorry, Annie," Alan sadly sighed. "Well, let's go, Tom."

The two brothers each grabbed a bow, received a few arrows, and went off to join the other amateur archers.

"That's no fair!" Anne yelled. "They're letting them do it 'cause they're boys. That's discrimination!"

"Oh, Anne," Suzie calmed her sister, "don't get so bent out of shape over something so trivial."

Suzie turned around and spotted several Indian girls dancing and performing. "Hey, check out those moves. Why don't we…" Suzie turned back to find Anne had disappeared. "Anne? Anne?"

Meanwhile, Flip, Mimi, and Chu-Chu were watching Scooter participate in a snake race. To win, Scooter had to beat a super-fast, non-poisonous snake to the finish line. Due to the many chases the Chan Clan had been in during cases, the youngest Chan child won easily.

The game operator presented Scooter with his prize, a little tomahawk, which Mimi confiscated from him.

"No, Scooter," Mimi chastised, "this is a dangerous weapon. You shouldn't touch it."

Flip returned the tomahawk to Scooter. "Relax, Mimi," he countered. "This tomahawk is made of plastic. It's totally fake."

After blowing a raspberry at his bossy sister, Scooter walked off with his prize, followed by Mimi, Flip, and Chu-Chu.

Close by, Henry, Stanley, and Nancy had just left the food stands. "I cannot believe you two just scarfed down ten pies," Henry complained.

"Hey!" Stanley corrected. "I only had three. Nancy ate seven."

As an annoyed Henry face palmed, Flip, Scooter, Mimi, and Chu-Chu appeared. "Hey, guys," Flip greeted, "you having fun?"

"You bet!" Nancy replied.

"Hey," Flip then pointed over to Charlie Chan, "isn't that Pop?"

His siblings all turned towards their father and noticed him talking to the police officer he met upon his arrival.

"What's going on?" asked Scooter.

"It could be another caper," the excited Flip guessed. "Let's check it out."

"Hold it," Henry stopped his brother. "You know Pop doesn't like us eavesdropping. Besides, he'd easily spot us doing it here. If the crime is that serious, I'm sure we'll hear more about it later. So, let's just go back to enjoying the festival." Reluctantly, the Clan agreed with their eldest sibling.

Back inside the archery tent, the young male contestants were firing arrows at their rounded, foamed targets. Alas, not one of them made a bull's-eye. Alan and Tom's luck weren't much better. Alan could hit the target, but couldn't make a bull's-eye whereas Tom kept missing the target completely.

"This is much more complicated than it appears," Tom struggled.

"I'll say," Alan agreed. He then looked over next to him and noticed a young boy, a little shorter than him, wearing blue winter clothes, a blue hood and green cap over his head, and a green scarf covering the bottom half of his face, who had just arrived.

He fired his first arrow, but sadly missed the target.

"Wow," Alan snickered, "and I thought your aim was bad, Tom. That kid shoots like a girl."

The new boy was not amused by Alan's joke. He pulled out another arrow, took great aim…and fired a perfect bull's-eye!

As Alan, Tom, Neil Lockster, the judge, and all the other boys looked on in amazement, the young boy fired three more arrows and made a bull's-eye each time. Everyone applauded him.

The judge and Neil approached the boy and congratulated him.

"And I never had one lesson," the boy said in a deep voice.

"Young lad," the judge complimented, "we've never seen such great archery from a child your age. Would you like to participate in our archery tournament?"

"Would I?!" the boy said in a higher voice, but quickly toned his voice back down. "Uh, I mean, I sure would."

"How astounding!" Tom applauded. "I never seen a youth demonstrate such great skills with a bow and arrow."

Alan smiled, but then stared at the boy's face a little. "Yeah, but there's something very familiar about him, though."

As the two brothers looked on, their elder sister caught up with them.

"Alan, Tom," Suzie questioned, "have you seen Anne? I lost track of her."

Alan stared over at the half-masked boy a little longer. "I think I might have," he answered Suzie.

The inventing genius walked over to the mysterious boy while he was shaking the judge's hand. He immediately pulled off the boy's hood, cap, and scarf, revealing him to be a her. It was really Anne in disguise!

"Anne?!" gasped Tom and Suzie.

"A young _lady_?" the judge also gasped.

"Yeah, so what?" Anne retorted as she placed her original cap back on her head. "A girl made all those perfect shots. Ya got a problem with that?"

"Not at all," the judge said, greatly pleased. "We don't get that many female contestants, usually 'cause they're normally not interested. We would be honored if you participated in our tournament, young lady. Right, Neil?"

"As long as she puts up a good challenge, I couldn't ask for anything better," the athlete approved.

Anne continued to proudly shake hands with the judge, accepting her invitation to the archery tournament.


	3. Counterfeiting Case

**Chapter 3: Counterfeiting Case**

After finishing memorizing their visit to the Indian Festival, Alan responded to Anne's earlier statement, "You say 'cleverly proven', I say 'cleverly deceived'."

"Whatever," Anne argued. "You're just jealous."

Flip soon changed the subject. "You know what really bugs me is that we never found out what Pop was talking to the fuzz about."

"It probably wasn't that important," Henry suggested. "We haven't seen that or any policeman for a whole week since then. Maybe whatever the problem was, they were able to solve it without Pop."

All of a sudden, the Chan children heard the sound of a police siren. They watched as a policeman parked his vehicle in the hotel parking lot and walked over to their father. "Greetings, Mr. Chan," the policeman introduced himself. "My comrade spoke to you at the Indian Festival last week. He sent me to give you the rest of the details on the subject."

"Understood," Charlie nodded. "Let's go to my room to discuss it."

With the policeman accompanying him, Charlie entered the hotel.

"Spoke too soon," Henry sighed, referring to his previous suggestion.

"Well, let's go!" Flip pressed.

"Yeah, let's go!" Scooter again agreed.

As her siblings all started to follow their father into the hotel, Suzie attempted to talk them out of it. "Uh, guys, don't you think we should have better manners than…"

"NO!" her siblings all answered before their sister finished her sentence. Not wanting to be left out, Suzie reluctantly followed.

As the eight children headed to their hotel room, a shadowy figure watched them from the roof of a building next door through binoculars.

Several seconds later, the Chan children walked up to their hotel room to find Nancy, Mimi, and a now bathed Chu-Chu outside, ears to the door, attempting to listen in.

"You guys find out anything?" Flip asked his two youngest sisters.

"Not much," Mimi informed her brother. "So far we only heard stuff about stolen printers."

"Stolen printers?" a puzzled Henry asked. "That's weird."

The rest of the Clan each leaned on the door to listen to the conversation between the two investigators.

"And you're certain the counterfeiting took place some time after the printers were stolen?" Charlie Chan asked the policeman.

"Counterfeiting?!" the Chan Clan gasped in shock from outside their room.

"Indeed," the police officer explained to Mr. Chan. "Several days after the printers were stolen, phony money started going around like sharks circling a swimmer. Also the printers that were stolen were costly and advanced. Perfectly capable of printing fake bills."

"One moment, Officer," Charlie paused the policeman. "Before you continue, I need to make certain of something."

The clever detective got up from his seat, went to his door, and opened it to see if anyone, like his children, were spying. Surprisingly, there was no one in sight except for the energetic Chu-Chu. Feeling all was fine, Charlie went back in to continue his discussion.

Downstairs from their suite, the ten children were sitting in the hotel lobby, after narrowly avoiding being caught by their father.

"Boy, that was close," Stanley panted.

"Yeah," Suzie said with disappointment, "but too bad we couldn't stay long enough to hear much."

"We were able to stay long enough to know what the case is about," Henry corrected his sister, "and that's what counts."

While the enthusiastic children were plotting their next move, another shadowy figure was inside the hotel kitchen, finishing a conversation on the phone. After hanging up, the mysterious character went over to a table holding a serving tray with ten cups of tea on it and placed sleeping pills in each drink.

Back in the lobby, the Chan Clan leader was finishing explaining his strategy to his younger siblings.

"So that's it," Henry instructed. "Tomorrow, we'll split up and check out the stores with the missing printers for clues. While we're at it, we'll keep our eyes opened for anyone using phony money."

At that moment, a hotel waitress approached the ten children and placed the serving tray containing the ten teacups on a table. "Cool ice tea. Courtesy of the Aurora Hotel."

"Thank you," smiled Suzie.

"Yes, thank you," Mimi politely bowed her head to the waitress. The generous hotel servant bowed back and took her leave.

Each of the kids grabbed a cup, took a sip of tea, then resumed their discussion.

"Can't we ask Pop more about the case before we go out tomorrow?" Nancy suggested.

"Don't be ridiculous, Nancy. There's no way Pop would tell us anything about the case," Flip disagreed. "But I don't think we should wait 'til tomorrow. I say we should get started right now."

Anne let out a slight yawn and declared, "We don't have enough info to go out right now."

Henry, too, let out a yawn. "Right. Plus, the police officer might drop by again tomorrow. We'll probably be able to get more information about the case then."

Stanley released a big yawn. "And also…I'm too tired to go out right now. I need some sleep."

"Me too," Suzie tiredly agreed.

"Same here," Alan exhaustedly said.

"Well…" Flip yawned. "Maybe a quick nap couldn't hurt. Not that I'm tired or anything."

"Come on, gang," said a worn-out Henry. "Let's head back to our room."

Everyone placed their teacups back on the table and went back upstairs, except for an extremely drowsy Nancy, who followed her siblings upstairs, but took her teacup with her.

As the Chan kids walked on, the mysterious person from the kitchen continued watching.


	4. The Chan Clan Kidnapped

**Chapter 4: The Chan Clan Kidnapped**

That night, after the police officer had long been gone, Charlie Chan looked in on his children in their rooms and all of them were sleeping heavily.

"Very strange," the detective pondered to himself. "I wonder why they all decided to turn in so early. This isn't like any of them." Figuring it was getting late, Charlie went to his room and decided to turn in himself.

Hours later, the entire Chan family was sound asleep. Chu-Chu, who was sleeping with Mimi, eventually chose to sleep in the living room on a nice, soft chair. The very moment he rested his head, he heard a clicking sound. Chu-Chu looked over to the door and noticed it was unlocking.

Someone was breaking in!

Terrified, Chu-Chu hid under the hotel's living room sofa.

Within a few seconds, the door was opened by an unknown man wearing a buffalo mask and a long cape. Once he entered their suite, he walked over to one of the Chan children's rooms and went inside. He soon walked back out carrying Henry and Stanley under his arms.

Chu-Chu watched helplessly as the crook carried the two boys downstairs, went outside, and placed them inside a large freight wagon within a large, brown box truck. The man then returned to the Chan children's room and did the same with Alan and Tom.

The Chan Clan were being kidnapped!

When the crook came back and repeated the process with Flip and Scooter, Chu-Chu secretly followed him to his truck. As the kidnapper left to abduct more of the Chans, Chu-Chu leapt into the wagon and attempted to wake up Flip. Unfortunately, the young Chan was still weakened from the sleeping pills that was in his tea and was unable to awaken.

Chu-Chu soon heard approaching footsteps and hid himself under a sleeping Henry and Stanley. The disguised kidnapper returned, this time dumping Suzie and Anne inside the wagon, then left again.

The frightened Pekingese used this opportunity to attempt to wake up Henry, but unfortunately was just as unsuccessful at waking him up as he was with Flip. Hearing the kidnapper again returning, Chu-Chu hid himself underneath the wagon.

Lastly, the criminal placed Nancy and Mimi inside the wagon. Having all ten children captured, the criminal placed a large white sheet over them and stepped out to close up his truck.

Realizing it was now or never, Chu-Chu, using his unique ability to make any kind of sound effect, imitated a loud police siren.

The crook fortunately doesn't notice the small dog, but was fooled into believing the police was nearby. He immediately closed and locked up his vehicle, rushed to the driver's seat, started up the truck, and drove off.

Thankfully, Chu-Chu's siren imitation had not gone unheard.

Within the Chans' hotel room, Charlie had awaken to the sound of the so-called siren. He went over to look outside the living room window, but noticed no police cars. His head turned towards his children's bedroom doors, which were opened. Suspicious, he looked inside the rooms and found all ten of his children gone!


	5. Lost In The Woods

**Chapter 5: Lost In The Woods**

Half an hour later, the kidnapper drove to the edge of a road that had a hill leading to a deep forest. He backed his truck up to the guardrails and temporarily parked.

Afterwards, the villain got out of his seat, opened the back of his truck, and smirked, "Time to dump the cargo."

With Chu-Chu hiding among his owners, the crook pushed out the wagon and had it facing down the hill. "Have a nice hiking trip, kiddies," the villain sinisterly laughed as he gave the wagon a big push, sending it rolling uncontrollably down the hill and into the woods.

Unable to steer, Chu-Chu could only look on in fright as the wagon carrying him and his owners continued rolling on until it finally collided into a large boulder sending everyone flying into the air and making different crash landings.

Henry, who landed in a shallow river, finally regained consciousness. Upon noticing his surroundings, he knew something wasn't right. "What in the-Where am I?" he asked himself. "Where is everyone?"

The moment Henry walked out of the river, the faithful Chu-Chu ran up to him barking. "Chu-Chu!" Henry petted his dog. "Am I glad to see you. Is everyone else here?"

Chu-Chu nodded and barked, "Ruh-huh!"

"Honestly, I don't know whether that's a good thing or not," Henry sighed to himself. He instantly started calling out to his siblings. "Stanley! Suzie! Anne! Alan! Tom! Where are you?"

"Henry?" the weary voice of his younger brother Stanley replied. "Henry, is that you?" Stanley ran to his brother after emerging from behind a tree.

"You alright?" a worried Henry asked.

"Yeah, I'm fine," Stanley assured his brother, "but lost. Where are we?"

"Your guess is as good as mine," Henry shrugged.

"Wow, Henry," Stanley laughed after looking at his brother's wet clothes, "you're soaked. What happened? You decided to go for a late night swim and forgot to take your clothes off? Heh-heh-heh!"

"Never mind the jokes!" Henry grimaced. "We gotta find the rest of the Clan." The Clan leader looked around and continued calling. "Suzie! Flip! Mimi! Scooter! Nancy! Are you here?"

"Here I am, Henry," said the timid, young Mimi.

Henry and Stanley looked over to find their youngest sister hanging by her shirt from a short tree branch. Luckily, she wasn't too high up and Henry was able to reach up and pull her down.

"You alright?" he asked her.

"Yeah," Mimi answered, "but Scooter's still up there." Mimi pointed higher up the tree and showed Scooter on an upper branch too high for her brothers to reach.

"Scooter!" Henry called up. "Can you jump from there?"

"Sure thing, Henry," Scooter called back. The anxious boy, without a second thought, jumped out of the tree and into Stanley's arms.

"You okay, Scooter?" asked a worried Mimi.

"Oh, sure," Scooter smiled as Stanley let him down. "That was fun!"

Chu-Chu leaped into Scooter's arms and licked his young owner's face, greatly relieved.

"Chu-Chu! You're here, too!" Scooter exclaimed. "Uh…where is here? Are Flip, Nancy, and the others here, too?"

"I think so," Henry unsurely answered. "Let's keep looking."

Many yards away, where several trees were blocking a path leading to the river stream, Alan had awakened and was searching for his siblings.

"Henry!" he shouted. "Anne! Suzie! Tom! Is anyone out here?"

"Over here, Alan!" the brainy Tom ran to his inventive brother from behind. "Any sign of the rest of our mutual siblings?"

"Not yet," Alan replied, "but I'm sure they're here."

"Alan?" called the eager voice of their younger brother, Flip. "Is that you?"

Flip soon emerged from a bush along with their sister, Suzie.

"Flip! Suzie!" Alan greeted. "Good to see ya!"

"Same here," said Flip. "Hey, isn't that Anne over there?"

Flip pointed over another large boulder to show his older sister still asleep near a log.

"You're right." Alan immediately shouted down to his sister. "Anne! Hey, Anne! You alright? Wake up!"

Hearing her brother's call, Anne finally woke up from her deep slumber.

"Huh?" Anne let out a small yawn, then took a good hard look at her surroundings. "What the-? Hey! Where am I?"

As the confused tomboy rose up from the ground, she was met up with by her four siblings. "Could someone tell me what we're doing outside in the middle of the night?" she asked them.

"Now you're asking what we'd like to know," Alan responded.

"Same here," their eldest sibling agreed.

The five siblings looked over and were greeted by Henry, Stanley, Mimi, Scooter, and Chu-Chu.

"Okay, head count," Henry started counting his siblings and noticed one missing. "Hey, where's…"

Before Henry could finish his question, a thud was heard. Everyone looked behind Flip and Suzie and found Nancy, who had just tripped over a small rock while walking to her siblings. "Here you guys are," she groaned as she got back up.

"Okay," Henry sighed, " _now_ we're all here…wherever here is."

Tom looked around their woodland area and swiftly spotted something he recognized. "Hey, I've seen this tree before in books," the intelligent Chan child examined the large plant further. "Picea sitchensis. Also known as the Sitka spruce, an evergreen tree usually grown in rainforests."

"So, we're in a rainforest?" Suzie asked.

"A temperate rainforest, to be precise," Tom further explained. "And assuming we're still in Alaska, I'd say we're in the Tongass National Forest."

"And how far is that from the hotel?" Flip asked his bright sibling.

"I'm afraid that remains uncertain," Tom fretted, "but I'm sure if we find a park ranger, we'll be able to get back easily."

"Great," Henry recapped their situation. "We're lost in the woods in the middle of the night. No phones, no Chan-Coms, and no Chan Van. What could be worse?"

"Well," Stanley guessed, "it could be pouring down raining."

Instantly, thunder roared, lightning flashed in the sky, and it began to rain heavily causing everyone to angrily stare at Stanley.

"Hey, don't blame me! Henry's the one who asked," Stanley stammered.

Anne quickly spotted something to her far left. "Hey, there's a cave over there."

"Quick," Henry ordered, "let's take shelter inside."

The children and their dog all ran inside the large cave and out of the rain. They watched as it poured greatly and became filled with despair.

"Wham bam, we're in a jam," said Stanley.

"You got that right," Alan sadly nodded.

"Oh," Mimi worried, "will we be okay?"

Henry tried to remain optimistic for his sister. "Well, for now, we should be. I'm really not sure about later. All I can say is that I hope it doesn't take Pop long to notice we're gone."


	6. Two Mysteries

**Chapter 6: Two Mysteries**

Back at the Aurora Hotel, Charlie Chan was examining his children's rooms. Knowing it was unlike them to leave so late, unless he himself was out working, it was easy for the detective to realize something was terribly wrong.

He figured it'd be best to step out and look around the hotel, but the moment he walked over to the door to exit, he noticed it was unlocked. After examining the doorknob further, Charlie realized someone broke into their room!

The wise father walked back into one of his children's rooms to search for more clues. Sadly, all he could find was the teacup Nancy brought upstairs with her. However, when he looked at the teacup harder, he found some powder inside of it. Powders from a pill.

"Very peculiar," Charlie pondered. "I think I see why my children turned in early."

Chan sorrowfully stared outside of his hotel window and watched as it rained cats and dogs outside. "Aiya," he dreaded. "It appears I now have two mysteries to take care of. I just hope my children will be alright until I can find them."


	7. Campers

**Chapter 7: Campers**

The next morning had arrived and the rain had stopped. The Chan Clan had rested, left their sheltered cave, and began discussing their current predicament and how they got in it.

"I still say it was the waitress," Flip guessed. "She must've drugged the drinks. I mean, who else could've done it?"

"Yeah, who else?" Scooter repeated.

"The hotel waiter?" Tom suggested. "The cook? Anyone else who works at the hotel?"

"Yeah, I guess," Flip said doubtfully, "but I still say the waitress had the best opportunity."

"Look, we can argue suspects later," Henry instructed. "Right now, we should try to find a park ranger to help us get out of this forest."

"Can we eat first?" Nancy begged. "I'm hungry."

"Nancy, be serious," Flip scolded. "How can you think of food at a time like this?"

"Sorry," sighed the slightly chubby Chan sister.

"Calm down, Flip," Suzie said to her brother. "She's got a point. We don't know how long we'll be out here. It can't hurt to look for something to eat to keep our strengths up."

As the children tried to figure out what they were going to do for food, the dependable Chu-Chu caught the scent of something in the air…something delicious.

The excited canine barked cheerfully and ran off.

"Hey, where's Chu-Chu going?" asked Scooter.

"Maybe he's got something," beamed Henry. "Let's go!"

Everyone immediately followed their fast pooch. They passed through many trees and bushes until they finally came to a halt. Chu-Chu's keen nose had led the Clan to a small campsite, but no one was in sight.

"Hey, what's in there?" Scooter walked over to a backpack near one of two tents in the site. After opening it, he dug around inside. "Hey, what's this?"

Before he could pull out what he found, Mimi called over to him, "Scooter Chan! Don't go messing with things that aren't yours! That's rude."

"You better quit telling me what to do!" Scooter demanded.

"Knock it off, you two," Flip ordered his siblings. "We gotta find someone around here who can help us."

Near a small fire that was burning, a small pan holding cooked bacon was lying on a tree stump and immediately spotted by Nancy.

"Oh, boy!" she cheered. "Bacon!" She ran over to the mouthwatering meat.

Suzie tried to stop her sister. "Wait, Nancy! That's not yours!"

Unfortunately, the eldest daughter was too late. The moment Nancy got close to the tree stump, she accidentally stepped on a wire, triggering a trap. A large net hidden in the trees suddenly fell from above and ensnared all ten children and Chu-Chu.

"Nice going, Nance," Flip sarcastically growled.

"Yeah, nice going," Scooter echoed.

"Hey!" Stanley cried out loud. "Some help here! Let us out!"

"Hey," an unfamiliar voice said, "who's there?"

A bearded man, wearing a brown boonie hat, walked out of his tent. "Who are you kids?" he asked.

"Long story," Henry replied.

Stanley jokingly explained to the gentleman, "But to make it short, we're…lost."

The camper pulled off the net, freeing the Chans. "Oh, well, sorry to hear that," he apologized. "Name's William, but you can call me Will. I'd love to help ya, but I just got here. I don't plan on leaving any time soon."

"Boy," Stanley groaned, "that's a downer."

"But," Will informed the children, "there is a ranger's office a few miles from here. Why don't you ask the rangers there?"

"Great," Henry perked up. "Where is it?"

The camper gave his instructions. "Well, you got a good long walk just north of here until you reach the waterfall. Go up the hill until you get to the top of the waterfall and keep going straight ahead until you get to an open field. Enter the forest on the west, or your left side. After a few more miles going straight, you should make it to the ranger's office just like that."

"Thanks a lot, sir," said Henry.

"Yeah, thanks," said Stanley.

Tom also wanted to share his gratitude, but was bothered a bit by Will's appearance. "I'd like to share my appreciation as well, but I must point out you look strangely familiar," he questioned. "Are you famous, perhaps?"

"Not to my knowledge," Will scratched his head, looking confused. "Oh, are you kids hungry? Would you like to take some food with you?"

"Oh, we would! We would!" Nancy bubbled. "Can we, Henry?"

"I doubt we would make it if we didn't," Henry answered.

"Hey, Sam!" the camper shouted behind him. "Fetch some grub for these kids!"

A mustached man, named Sam, exited the second tent and, as ordered, presented another plate full of bacon to give to the Chan kids.

"You kids sure you'll be alright in them woods by yourselves?" he asked with great concern.

"I gotta admit my buddy's right," Will added. "Apart from the usual wild animals like bears and wolves, there's been a rumor that Bigfoot has been seen somewhere in the deeper part of the forest."

"B-B-Bigfoot?" Mimi stuttered as she clanged to Nancy.

"Are you referring to the Sasquatch?" the informative Tom asked. "The legendary, hairy, ape-like creature that is said to be six to ten feet tall?"

"That's the one, kiddo," Sam replied. "Except there's been a lot of talk lately that he ain't legendary."

Not convinced, Henry brushed off the warning. "Uh, yeah. Thanks for the warning, and the food, but I'm sure we'll be fine. Let's go, gang."

With Suzie carrying the plate of bacon, the Chan Clan and Chu-Chu headed for the said ranger's office.

The instant they were out of sight, Sam whispered to Will, "Are you sure it was good letting them go? They might interfere with our plan."

"I wouldn't count on that," Will grinned. "The animals will make lunchmeat out of 'em before they even get to the ranger's place. If not, we'll take care of 'em after we finish our business here and head up there. And if we're lucky, they might find our 'legendary' friend for us."


	8. Grizzly Rodeo

**Chapter 8: Grizzly Rodeo**

Over an hour later, the Chan Clan had eaten the bacon they received and had traveled greatly since their encounter with the two campers.

They had climbed the hill leading to the top of the mentioned waterfall and several miles later, they reached an open grass field.

"So far, so good," said Henry. "If that Will guy is right, we still got a way to go, though."

"Can we rest for a while?" Mimi panted. "I'm tired."

"Me too," a drained Nancy agreed.

"Same here," Stanley also panted. "We're obviously not gonna make it to the ranger's office today anyway. Can't we rest?"

"Come on, you guys," Flip urged his siblings. "Can't you at least wait 'til we get to that forest over there? If we hurry, we can make it to the ranger's by night."

"No. For once, I gotta agree with Stanley," Henry convinced his brother. "There's no way we'll make it there any time today, let alone tonight. It won't hurt if we rest a while. After a break, we'll head into the woods and look for a new place to spend the night."

"Sounds good to me," Suzie panted. "My feet hurt."

"What else is new?" Alan grumbled, annoyed.

"What was that?" Suzie stared.

"Oh, nothing," Alan waved it off. "We should have that break now."

Each Chan found themselves a fitting spot on the ground to sit. As they relaxed, they viewed the wonderful beauty of nature. They watched bald eagles soar in sky, a deer skip into the woods, and a pair of goshawks feed their young in a tree.

"You know," Suzie praised, "I still would rather be back in town, but you gotta admit all this nature is pretty…well, pretty."

"Yeah," Anne agreed. "It is pretty cool, isn't it?"

"Yeah," Nancy smiled, but quickly frowned. "But, what about that Bigfoot that camper guy mentioned? Do you think he'll find us?"

"Oh, don't say that!" Mimi trembled.

"Aw, quit worrying, you two," Flip insisted. "Bigfoot's not real."

"Flip's right," Henry reassured his sisters. "He's just an old legend made up to scare campers."

"Hmm," Tom thought, "it's really troublesome. I still can't shake the feeling I have seen that Will person somewhere before."

A small growl was suddenly heard.

"Yikes!" Nancy yelped. "If there's no Bigfoot, then what was that?"

The small growl was heard again.

The Chans all jumped up and looked around. They saw nothing, but could still hear the growling. To make things stranger, it sounded like more than one creature was making the sound.

"Hey, look!" Scooter pointed right below him.

Everyone looked down and found a pair of bear cubs playing together in the grass.

"Astounding," Tom gasped. "A pair of Ursus arctos offspring."

"Looks like a couple of baby brown bears to me," Anne corrected.

"That's what he said," her brother Alan countered.

"Oh," Anne said, feeling a bit embarrassed. "He really needs to learn to speak English."

As the Clan adored watching the precious cubs, Henry quickly realized something urgent. "Okay, everyone, this is nice and all, but we really should get going."

"Aw, come on, Henry," Stanley teased. "What's the hurry? Not afraid of a couple of baby bears, are ya? Heh-heh-heh!"

"No, you dum-dum!" Henry angrily answered. "It's not the babies that worries me. It's…"

A thunderous, loud roar was heard. The children looked on far behind the cubs and saw a large, angry adult brown bear.

"It's their mother!" Henry continued.

The furious, overprotective mother bear released another vicious roar before immediately charging towards the ten children.

Rapidly, the Chan Clan and Chu-Chu ran for the forest on their west side.

"Head for the trees!" Henry commanded.

He and Stanley swiftly climbed up a tall tree, well out of the mother bear's reach. Alan, Anne, and Suzie climbed up a different tree, as did Mimi and Scooter.

Flip successfully climbed up another tree. As Tom and Nancy attempted to join Flip, Nancy unfortunately slipped while climbing and fell. She unintentionally grabbed onto Tom's shirt, causing him to fall with her.

While Nancy fell inside of a bush, which Chu-Chu was hiding in, Tom fell next to it, gaining the bear's attention. The angry mother turned away from Henry and Stanley's tree and went after the vulnerable, brainy child.

"Tom!" Stanley cried out.

"Tom!" Alan also shouted.

"Don't just stand there, Tom!" Anne yelled. "Run!"

Unfortunately, the petrified intellect knew there was no way he'd be able to climb back up the tree in time and could only look on as the mother bear headed towards him.

Not one to just stand and watch, Anne stood up from the top of her tree and leaped down to a branch below her.

"Anne!" Alan yelled. "Get back here!"

His cries were ignored. Anne continued hopping from one tree branch to another on different trees leading to the mother bear.

The very moment the furious creature got close to Tom, Anne leapt on her back and hung on tightly, riding the bear like a rodeo horse.

"Alright!" Anne cheered. "Hi-ho, Mama Bear, away!"

The bear ran further into the woods, kicking and attempting to shake Anne off her back. Not paying attention to where she was going, the bear ran into a large, hard tree, knocking herself out.

Anne climbed off. "Aw! Fun's over already?"

Henry, Stanley, Alan, and Tom soon caught up with her.

"Hey, did you see that?" the tomboy excitedly ranted. "She was all kicking and roaring, but I held on tight! Man, it was like riding a bull or something and…"

Anne noticed Henry and Alan angrily staring at her with their arms crossed. "Uh…that didn't scare you too much, did it?"

"'Scare'? Are you kidding?" Alan sarcastically chuckled, then shouted, "You practically stopped my heart! What were you thinking?! You could've been hurt!"

"Well, I wasn't," Anne argued. "So, what are you kickin' about?"

"Anne!" Nancy came from behind a tree. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah," Anne waved back. "I'm fine." As she waved, Anne noticed something lying in the ground just a few inches in front of her little sister. Something shiny…and sharp.

"Oh, wow!" Nancy complimented as she walked forward. "You sure showed that bear! You were great!"

Anne instantly realized what the sharp, hidden object was and shouted, "Nancy, hold it! Get back!" The tomboyish sister rushed over to her obese sibling just as she stepped on the object and pushed her back, but wasn't fast enough to move back herself.

SNAP! Anne's right foot was caught in a bear trap.

"Ow! Ow!" Anne fell to the ground, screaming in pain. "Get it off! Get it off of me!"

Henry rushed over and grabbed the bear trap. "Hold on, Anne." He pulled on the jaws of the trap, getting it to open wide enough for Anne to pull her foot out, then released it.

Alan and Tom rushed over to their injured sister. "Annie," Alan gasped, "are you alright?"

"Well, _now_ I'm not!" Anne snarled.

Upon hearing the commotion, Suzie, Flip, Mimi, Scooter, and Chu-Chu arrived.

"Who screamed?" a concerned Mimi asked.

Suzie quickly noticed Anne grasping her leg in agony. "Anne, what happened?"

"A bear trap, that's what happened!" Anne angrily answered.

"I don't understand," Tom wondered. "What's a bear trap doing out here? Hunting is forbidden in this area."

"Hey," Scooter stared at the enclosed trap. "I've seen this before. That man who was camping had one."

"Are you sure, Scooter?" Flip suspiciously asked.

"You bet, Chief," the youngest Chan proudly claimed. "That's what I saw in his backpack right before Mimi started bossing me."

"But what would he be doing with a bear trap?" Stanley asked.

"That's it! I just finally realized who that man is!" Tom clarified. "That was William Gamesfield. I've seen him on the news and in documentaries. He's a hunter, wanted in over a dozen countries for over hunting and illegal poaching."

"Oh, this is just great," Suzie disappointedly sighed. "It's bad enough we're lost in the woods. Now we're lost in the woods with a criminal."

"Yeah, well, we're worry about him later," said Henry. "Right now, let's get as far away from Mama Bear here as possible before she wakes up and find a place to spend the night."

With Alan helping a limping Anne, the Chan Clan and Chu-Chu walked off. As they trekked on, a shadowy figure with yellow eyes watched them from a bush, growling.


	9. The Investigation

**Chapter 9: The Investigation**

Back in town, inside the hotel, Charlie Chan was finishing a discussion with the hotel waitress while awaiting the arrival of the policeman he met the previous day.

"And you swear the only time you were in the kitchen was when the chef called you to serve?" he questioned the young lady.

"I'm positive," the young lady nodded.

"And the chef said he only left the tea alone for a moment to summon you," Charlie thought. "Was anyone else around at that time who could've stepped in?"

"I don't think so," said the waitress. She then called over to the hotel butler as he polished a nearby table. "Hey, Frank! Apart from me, did you see anyone else come near the kitchen yesterday?"

"Sorry, Sarah," the butler replied, "I was busy with a phone call. I didn't see anyone."

"Okay, thanks anyway," the waitress waved. She then released a sad sigh. "Poor Frank. Ever since his pharmacy went out of business, he had nowhere else to go. This was the only job around here he could get."

"Really?" Charlie asked. "And how long has he been working here?"

"About two months at least," Miss Sarah answered.

"And what about you?" the detective questioned further.

"Oh, I've been working here for at least two years," the young waitress giggled, "but I don't plan on being a waitress forever. I'm sure one day I'll work my way up and become a hotel manager…of a different hotel, I mean."

"I hope your dream comes true," Charlie encouraged.

"Mr. Chan!" a voice from behind greeted. "I'm here." It was the expected police officer, arriving at the hotel.

"Ah, Sergeant," the detective responded. "I am glad you are here."

"I'm sorry to hear about your children," the policeman comforted. "I assure you we have squad cars all over searching for their whereabouts."

"Thank you," said Charlie. "Not to go off the subject, but do you have what I've asked of you?"

"Indeed." The police sergeant pulled out a sheet of paper. "Information about that powder in the teacup you've found. It was as you suspected, powder from a sleeping pill. But the odd thing is that the sleeping pill that was used went out of stock quite a while ago."

"Hmm," Charlie suggested. "We will need to investigate further on this drug. Come, Sergeant."

The two investigators exited the hotel.

"Ugh!" the sergeant complained as he face palmed. "As if we didn't have enough problems trying to find a counterfeiter, a kidnapping had to happen."

"Sergeant," Charlie calmed his companion, "don't let this stress you. I guarantee you that's exactly what the counterfeiter wants."

The sergeant's head rose. "Are you saying you think the counterfeiter is responsible for the abduction of your children?"

"Indeed, I am certain," the brilliant detective deduced. "Their kidnapping was meant to be a diversion to keep us from searching for him. So I can assure you if we can find the kidnapper, we'll also put an end to the counterfeiting."


	10. Nighttime Stroll

**Chapter 10: Nighttime Stroll**

Hours later, nighttime had arrived and the Chan Clan had found a new cave to rest in. It had a narrow entrance that was big enough for all of them to enter, but too small for anything bear-sized to get through.

Stanley took a sneak peek outside of the entryway to make sure all was safe.

"See anything, Stanley?" his older brother asked.

"Nope," Stanley laughed. "Nothing ' _unbearable_ '! Heh-heh-heh!"

"Will you stop it with those rotten jokes?!" Henry groaned.

Alan, whom was bandaging Anne's injured foot with strong leaves and sticks, also wasn't amused with Stanley's pun. "Yeah, Stanley. You've been doing nothing but making lame bear jokes all day. Give it a rest."

"Boy," Stanley crossed his arms, "you guys have no sense of humor."

As the inventing genius finished patching up his sister, he then passed her a long wooden stick he properly carved for her. "Here you go, Annie. A walking stick to help ya out."

"What are you trying to do? Make me look like an old fossil?" Anne rejected. "I'm not using that."

"You either look like a geezer and use the walking stick or look like a toddler and ride on Henry piggyback," Alan suggested.

Anne, despite liking neither choice, held out her hand. "Give me the stick."

"Gee, I'm sorry, Anne," Nancy sobbed. "It's my fault you got hurt."

As Anne walked around a bit with her stick, she assured her sister, "Nancy, for the 67th time, this wasn't your fault. It's that Will guy's fault for planting that trap."

"But," Nancy whimpered, "you wouldn't have stepped into that trap if it weren't for me."

"That's true," Scooter agreed. This unnecessary comment earned an angry glare from Anne, Suzie, and Mimi. "Uh," the young Chan stammered as he ran behind Flip for protection, "I-I-I mean, just kidding. That's definitely not true."

"Alright," Henry ordered, "that's enough. We still got ways to go, so let's turn in and get some sleep."

"But, Henry," Flip questioned, "if that guy is a crook like Tom said, how do we know he's telling the truth about where the forest fuzz is?"

"We don't," Henry explained, "but we also don't have much of a choice either. Besides, I have a backup plan, just in case. Now let's go to sleep."

Everyone found themselves a nice spot on the cavern floor to sleep. As she walked over to her spot, Nancy tripped over Chu-Chu and bumped into Anne's walking stick, causing it to fall on Flip's head.

"Ow!" Flip rubbed his head in pain. "Nancy, watch it, will ya?"

"I'm sorry," Nancy apologized.

"Geez, Nancy," Scooter criticized, "you're always messing up."

"Yeah," Flip complained, "do you have to make us suffer while you're at it? We got enough problems. Just go over and sleep in that corner."

"Okay," Nancy sadly pouted as she walked over to the corner.

"Oh, Flip," said Mimi, "that was mean!"

"It's alright, Mimi," Nancy sighed. "I'm better off over here. I won't hurt anyone that way."

Nancy laid on the floor to sleep and the rest of her siblings laid their heads to rest as well. Feeling sorry for her, Chu-Chu went over to sleep with Nancy.

Hours later, the Chan Clan were asleep. All but Nancy.

Chu-Chu soon woke up and noticed the depressed look on the young Chan daughter's face. He tried snuggling her for support, but failed to get a smile.

"Oh, Chu-Chu," Nancy murmured, "I've done nothing but mess things up all day. Sometimes I think the Chan Clan would be better off without me."

Chu-Chu shook his head and whined, showing he strongly disagreed.

"I wish there was at least something I could do to show Anne how sorry I am." Nancy thought for a moment, then suddenly came up with an idea. "I know! I saw some pretty flowers a while back. I'll pick some to give to her as a get-well present. And maybe if I also get some for Flip, he won't be mad at me anymore."

Chu-Chu panted happily, greatly approving of his owner's idea.

Nancy stood up and set out to look for some flowers. Chu-Chu attempted to follow, but Nancy stopped him. "No, Chu-Chu. This is my fault, so I need to fix it. Don't worry. I'll be right back."

The kind-hearted Chan child left the cave and went off to find some flowers.

After several minutes of walking, Nancy, with help from the moonlight, eventually found some beautiful blue flowers in the grass. "Oh, wow! I hope Anne and Flip like these. They're beautiful!"

As she started to pick the flowers, a large figure slowly crept up behind her. Its shadow covered the small girl entirely.

"Boy, it sure got darker fast," Nancy said to herself.

A low growl was heard from behind, filling her body with dread. The instant she turned around, a hairy hand covered her mouth before she could scream. The second youngest Chan daughter was then grabbed and carried off into the night.


	11. Find Nancy

**Chapter 11: Find Nancy**

Morning came and the sun rose up high. Chu-Chu had fallen asleep overnight near the cave entrance waiting for Nancy to return. When sunlight hit his face and woke him up, the concerned canine noticed right away that Nancy had not come back.

Chu-Chu sniffed around the entryway and went outside the cave to look around for his missing owner. All he could find were some of Nancy's footprints leading into the forest. Instantly, he howled the sound of a siren to wake up the rest of the Clan and rushed back in the cave.

Henry was the first to rise up. "Chu-Chu? What's wrong?"

Chu-Chu pointed to the corner where Nancy was resting the previous night, showing nothing there.

"What are you saying, Chu-Chu?" Henry looked on, puzzled. "There's nothing over there."

Chu-Chu started pretending to eat something. Afterwards, he stood upright and pretended to clumsily fall down.

"What gives?" Stanley wondered as he got up. "He kinda reminds me of Nancy doing that."

Henry looked around the cave. "Hey. Where _is_ Nancy?"

Chu-Chu barked and whimpered.

"I think that's what Chu-Chu's trying to say," Mimi figured. "Nancy's missing!"

Chu-Chu ran outside barking. When his owners followed, he pointed to Nancy's footprints in the ground.

"Those tracks head back into the woods," said Anne, leaning on her walking stick.

"But why would Nancy go into the forest by herself?" Suzie asked.

A worried Mimi had a hunch. "You don't think she ran away, do you?"

"Don't be ridiculous," Flip doubted. "Why would Nancy run away?"

"Yeah, why?" Scooter repeated.

"Because of you two!" Mimi scolded her brothers. "You were too hard on her and kept yelling at her for her mistakes!"

"Hey!" Scooter denied. "That's not true!"

Flip, consumed with guilt, rubbed the back of his head and disagreed, "No, Scooter. I think she's right. This has got to be our fault."

"Yeah, I agree," Alan said without any hesitation.

"Yeah, it's pretty much your fault," Anne nodded.

"Indubitably," Tom also agreed.

"Not that I disagree with you guys for blaming Flip and Scooter," Henry claimed, "this isn't the time to be pointing fingers. We can do that after we find Nancy. Stanley and I will go look for her while the rest of you wait here."

"No way!" Flip objected. "I'm goin', too. It's my fault Nancy left, so I'm gonna help look for her."

"If the chief's going, I'm going," young Scooter volunteered.

"And I'm going, too," Mimi insisted. "Someone's gotta keep an eye on Scooter, after all."

Chu-Chu barked and ran in front of the group, also volunteering to go.

"And Chu-Chu should come, too," Mimi added. "He can sniff out Nancy's trail."

"Oh, alright," Henry reluctantly accepted his siblings' offer. "Now let's go."

"Hey!" Anne attempted to follow. "I can help, too."

"Not with that bad foot, you can't," Henry denied his sister. "Wait here with Suzie and the others in case Nancy comes back while we're gone."

Obviously unhappy with her brother's decision, Anne sat on a tree stump without a word while Henry's party went off in search of their missing sibling.

With Chu-Chu leading the way sniffing the ground, the group eventually found their way to the grass area where Nancy was picking the blue flowers. Unfortunately, they no longer saw any more of their sister's footprints.

"I don't get it," Flip scratched his head, puzzled. "Why do the tracks stop here?"

"Maybe Nancy flew away. Heh-heh-heh!" Stanley laughed.

As usual, Henry was not amused. "Knock it off with the jokes! Just keep looking."

A whistle was suddenly heard.

"That's Chu-Chu," said Mimi.

"He's got something," said Flip.

Everyone walked over to their small pooch as he pointed to something. Down on the ground, there was another trail of footprints leading away from the flowers, but they clearly weren't Nancy's. These were much bigger.

"Wow!" Stanley asked. "Whose big feet do you think those belong to?"

"Big feet?" Mimi trembled. "Do you think maybe they're Bigfoot's feet?"

"Oh, not that again!" Flip groaned. "Look, there's no such thing as Bigfoot."

"Yeah, no such thing," Scooter agreed.

Stanley quickly disguised himself as a caveman. "Well, if it is him, he'll have me to deal with."

"What's with the disguise this time?" Henry asked as he crossed his arms.

"Isn't it obvious?" Stanley explained. "If we run into Bigfoot or any other wild beast, they'll think I'm Tarzan and will think twice before messing with us."

Ignoring his brother's crazy idea, Henry deduced, "Anyway, I bet if we follow these tracks, we'll find Nancy."

Chu-Chu sniffed the footprints and could pick up Nancy's scent near them. "Ruh-huh! Ruh-huh!" he barked.

"Well, that settles it. Follow those tracks," Henry commanded. "And, Stanley, get rid of that stupid disguise!"

Minutes later, the large footprints led the searching party to a path leading to a cave located up inside a large mountain. Though no more footprints were in sight, Chu-Chu's keen nose could smell Nancy's scent coming from inside the cave, encouraging the Chan siblings to check it out.

The children entered the cave, but were met with disappointment. Nancy wasn't inside.

"I don't get it," said a confused Flip. "Are you sure she came in here, Chu-Chu?"

"Ruh-huh!" the confident dog barked.

"Maybe she stepped out for a moment," Scooter guessed.

"The K-I-D might be right, Henry," Stanley, who had long removed his costume, agreed with his youngest brother. "You think we should wait here for a bit to see if she comes back?"

Suddenly, a thunderous roar was heard from behind.

"I don't think that's a good idea," Henry gulped.

Everyone turned around and saw a large, hairy, yellow-eyed, ape-like creature standing at the cave entrance, not at all pleased with having intruders in its home.

"It's Bigfoot!" Mimi shrieked.

"Oh, please!" Stanley scoffed. "I know a fake ape costume when I see one."

Stanley walked over to the ape creature and pulled the hair on his head. "You'll see. This mask will come right off with a good tug." The skeptical Chan pulled the hair harder and harder, making the creature angrier and angrier. Finally, it ran out of patience and roared ferociously, convincing Stanley it was _not_ wearing a mask.

"Hey, it really _is_ Bigfoot!" Stanley screamed. "Help! Help!"

As Stanley ran behind Henry, Bigfoot started closing in on the Chans.

Although obviously frightened, Flip chose to confront the beast. "A-A-Alright, buster!" he stuttered. "I'm through being Mr. Nice Guy. I know you got my sister and you better give her back or I'm bringing you in!"

Before Bigfoot could attack the eager young Chan, a familiar voice came from behind the creature. "Flip? Is that you?"

It was Nancy!

Her siblings all smiled with great delight. "Nancy!"

Chu-Chu leaped into the girl's arms, licking her face, showing how happy he was that she was finally found.

"Oh, hi, guys," Nancy greeted everyone. "I see you met my new friend, Mr. Bigfoot."

Her siblings could not believe what they've just heard. "Friend?!"


	12. Meeting Bigfoot

**Chapter 12: Meeting Bigfoot**

Once everyone had settled down, Henry insisted Nancy give an explanation on what happened to her the previous night.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to worry you," she explained. "I went out to pick some flowers, hoping that would cheer everyone up, but then Bigfoot came and grabbed me. His hand was caught in another bear trap and he wanted me to help take it off. I was going to go back to our cave, but after I told Bigfoot about us being lost, he had an idea on how to help us, so I decided to stay a bit longer."

"What idea is that?" Henry asked.

Bigfoot walked over to a window-like hole on his cave wall that showed the other side of the mountain and pointed straight ahead. The group saw smoke from a chimney rising from further in the forest. It was smoke from a ranger's cabin!

"Well," Henry sighed, "the good news is this means that Will guy told us the truth about the ranger's office. The bad news is that he, probably on purpose, neglected to mention we'd have to climb this mountain to get to it."

"And that could take days," Stanley sadly added.

Bigfoot walked back over to the entrance of the cave and grunted.

"Bigfoot says there's a river that flows around the mountain," Nancy translated. "Instead of climbing the mountain, we could use a raft to ride around it and the second we see a stream leading right, we head down it, go ashore, and we'll just have to walk five miles straight to get to the ranger's place."

"Wait a minute," Flip realized. "You can understand what he's saying?"

"Yeah," Nancy nodded. "I don't know why, but I just can."

Bigfoot then pointed to a raft, a couple of long oar-like sticks, and a few bed sheets.

"Oh, yeah," Nancy further explained. "Bigfoot said we could have those sheets to sleep on. He swiped…I mean stole…uh, I mean kinda borrowed them from campers. He also helped me build that raft so we could ride the river."

Finally, Bigfoot gave Nancy a basket full of berries. "And," she continued, "he helped me pick some nuts and berries for us to eat along the way."

"Wow! Thanks, BF," thanked Flip.

"Yeah, thanks," said Scooter.

"Uh, if it's not too much trouble, " Henry asked Bigfoot, "could you show us the best way to that river?"

Bigfoot responded with a grunt.

"He said yes," Nancy again translated.

Pleased that he and his siblings were getting closer to being rescued, Henry smiled, "Alright! Everybody, grab the raft and the rest of the supplies. We gotta fetch the rest of the Clan and get to that river!"


	13. Free the Animals

**Chapter 13: Free the Animals**

Back at their cave hideout, Suzie, Alan, Anne, and Tom continued to wait for their siblings to return.

"Henry and the others sure have been gone a while," said Suzie. "I hope they find Nancy and be back before dark."

Alan, bored from waiting, was carving an arrow out of a stick using a sharp stone. "I just hope they find her before something or _someone_ else do."

"Are you referring to the legendary Sasquatch?" asked Tom.

"Of course not," Alan explained. "I'm talking about that hunter. That bear trap from yesterday is a dead on sign that he might be nearby and if he knows we're onto him, it won't be pretty if he finds any of us."

"Please, Alan, one problem at a time," Suzie dreaded. "Let's focus on getting out of this woodland maze before worrying about no-good poachers."

"Wouldn't matter to me if we do or don't," a pessimistic Anne grumbled.

"What makes you say that?" Suzie asked her sister. "Don't you want to get back in time for the archery tournament?"

"What good would it do me if I did make it out of this forest in time?" the tomboy lamented. "I can't compete with this foot. Even if I got to a doctor, there's no way he'd be able to help my foot heal in time. That tournament is as good as lost."

"Why don't you practice your shooting to find out?" Alan suggested. "See if you can still fire an arrow even with that sore foot."

"And how am I supposed to do that?" Anne scoffed.

"With this." The young inventor presented his sister with a bow and arrow set he personally made with sticks, vines, and stones. "I suspected you might worry about that archery thing, so I thought I'd make this for you to practice with."

Anne accepted her brother's handmade gift. "Sometimes, bro, you amaze me."

Standing up the best way she could without her walking stick, Anne took aim at a pinecone in a tree and fired. Alas, she missed.

Tom looked up at the unharmed pinecone. "It appears your laceration prevented you from clouting that strobilus."

"What?" both his sisters looked at him, deeply puzzled.

"She missed the cone," Alan paraphrased.

The family inventor suddenly came up with a sneaky idea. "But I guess this is just living proof that a girl isn't fit for archery," he teased. "Maybe she should stick to cooking and cleaning like a normal lady."

The young feminist was anything but amused. She grabbed another arrow and again aimed for the pinecone.

"Cook and clean this!" She fired the arrow and this time hit the pinecone, causing it to fall and land on Tom's head.

A third arrow was fired at the pinecone and a bull's-eye was made. This little daredevil stunt also caused the brainy Chan to faint in fear.

Anne easily realized her elder brother merely said what he did to help her regain her confidence. "That was low, Alan, but thanks anyway."

"Anytime," Alan smiled back.

"Oh," Anne remembered. "I think I better fetch that first arrow I fired. I don't think it went far."

Anne placed her bow and arrows down, grabbed her walking stick, and went after her arrow. She wondered a bit into the bushes and eventually found the arrow in a short tree. As she retrieved it, a small whimper was heard.

"Chu-Chu?" Anne thought. She looked over another bush, but it wasn't the Chans' family dog she had found.

"Hey, Alan!" Anne yelled. "Suzie! Tom! Come look at this!"

Upon hearing their sister's call, Suzie and Alan went into the bushes. Tom, whom had regained consciousness, also followed.

"What is it?" Alan asked as he caught up with his younger sister.

Suzie, Alan, and Tom looked over Anne's shoulder and spotted a small gray puppy caught in a snare.

"What's a puppy doing out here?" Suzie asked.

"That's no mere puppy," Tom corrected his sister. "That's a Canis lupus offspring."

Suzie stared, even more confused, "A what offspring?"

"It's a baby gray wolf," Alan translated. "And he's in trouble."

"Poor thing," Suzie walked over to the poor wolf pup. "We gotta help him."

"Hold on." Alan went back to the group's cave and returned with the stone he used to carve Anne's arrows. He used the stone like a cutting knife on the wire wrapped around the pup's front paw. After a few seconds, the wire eventually broke off and the wolf pup was free.

Suzie cuddled the grateful pup. "Good boy," she cooed the adorable creature. "Now you should get home to your mother. Do you know where she is?"

The wolf pup whimpered and leapt from Suzie's arms. He walked on, then stopped to point straight ahead.

"I think he wants us to follow him," Alan guessed.

"Well, then let's follow," said Anne.

The four middle children followed the wolf pup further into the woods until he stopped at another opened grassy area. Within this field, the Chans found animals locked up in cages.

There were animals from deer bucks, does, and fawns to bald eagles to otters to beavers to moose. Also among the animals captive was the mother brown bear from the previous day and both her young cubs. In another cage was an entire wolf pack. At the sight of this, the wolf pup whined sadly.

Anne limped towards the cages. "Well, come on, guys. Don't just stand there. Let's free'em.."

"Agreed." Tom examined the cages. "Hmm. They appear to be padlocked. I believe the best solution would be to create a spear of sort. Or perhaps we could use a large, sharp stone like a seesaw and cut the bars."

Anne showed a pair of keys she found on top of one of the cages. "Or we could use these, genius."

"Well…yeah, we could," Tom said, feeling a bit embarrassed.

Anne first limped to the mother bear's cage. "I know we got off on the wrong foot- and I think I just made fun of myself there- but we're both victims here. So, as they said in the old days, 'let's bury the hatchet', alright?" She released the bear family and they returned to the woods.

Thereafter, Anne freed the rest of the imprisoned animals. The instant the wolf pack were released, they met up with the wolf pup. After a happy reunion, they journeyed back to their forest home. Before the wolf pup left, he cuddled Suzie's leg one last time, and went back with his family.

"Well, now that that's done," Anne suggested, "we better hurry and get back to the hideout. Henry and the others might already be back."

"Yeah," Alan added. "Besides, I don't wanna be around when the hunters come back and find their catch gone."

"You said it," Suzie agreed.

The four children headed back into the forest. After a few minutes of walking, they heard a certain voice calling. "Anne! Suzie!"

"It's Henry," Anne said. "Let's go."

The four quickly approached their cave and found Henry's group there waiting. Right away, they noticed Nancy with them.

"Hey," Anne smiled. "You've found…" The tomboy and the other middle siblings soon noticed the hairy, new companion that came with Henry's party and immediately recognized who he was.

"BIGFOOT!" the middle children screamed as they held onto each other.

"Hey, hey, hey. Cool it," Henry calmed his younger siblings. "He's a friend and he's here to help us. I'll explain on the way to the river."

Some time later, the Chan Clan were boarding their new raft, ready to sail up the river.

"Well, uh, Bigfoot," said Henry, "I guess this is goodbye. Thanks again for your help."

The supposed-to-be legendary creature shook young Nancy's hand and grunted sadly.

"I'll miss you, too, Mr. Bigfoot," Nancy lamented. "Be good and take care of yourself."

The ten children all waved goodbye to their new friend, then sailed off on their river trek. Once they were out of sight, Bigfoot went back into the forest.

However, before the hairy creature reached his mountain, he found some of the flowers Nancy picked the previous night lying on the ground. This greatly concerned the ape-like being.

Meanwhile, with Henry and Stanley paddling, the Chan kids were enjoying their river raft ride. As they sailed, someone watched them from a great distance with binoculars.

It was the bull-masked man, their abductor, and he was less than pleased with the Chan children's successful progress.


	14. Counterfeiter Apprehended

**Chapter 14: Counterfeiter Apprehended**

Back in the city in the middle of the afternoon, a shadowy figure snuck out of the Aurora Hotel and got inside his car. He drove for several miles until he arrived at an old, small abandoned building.

Afterwards, the mysterious man entered the building and walked into a dark room where several printers were creating brand new dollar bills for him. Before he could grab a dollar, the lights to the room unexpectedly came on.

The famous detective, Charlie Chan, and the police sergeant entered the room.

"Sergeant," Chan exclaimed, "there is your counterfeiter. The Aurora Hotel's butler!"

The keen-eyed detective had done it again. He caught the butler, Frank, in the act of counterfeiting money.

"Alright, Chan," the butler growled, "how did you figure it out?"

"It wasn't too complicated, really," the brilliant detective explained. "The theft of the printers started not long after your pharmacy went out of business, as did the counterfeiting. Though I must admit the sleeping pills were the primary clue. The pills you used to put my children to sleep were sold only at your store, so only you could have drugged them. By the way, not a wise move to use the building you used to run your pharmacy in as a hideout."

Several other policemen came in and the hotel butler was arrested.

"Only one question still remains," Charlie inquired. "Where did you have your accomplice take my children?"

"Accomplice?" the confused police sergeant scratched his head.

"What difference does it make?" Frank sneered. "By the time you find them, they'll be animal meat, assuming they haven't been… _poached_ , that is."

"We'll never know that for sure until they're found," the detective retorted with just a bit of anger in his voice. "Now I ask you again: Where…are…my…children?"


	15. Midnight Guests

**Chapter 15: Midnight Guests**

It was now late in the evening and the Chan Clan had finally sailed around the mountain. Upon going down the stream on their right, they reached a walk path and came ashore.

"Hmm," Henry observed the area. "There aren't many trees above us. Maybe this would be a nice spot to try my backup plan."

Flip, who had just finished helping Stanley, Alan, and Tom pull their raft onto dry land, approached his eldest sibling. "What is your backup plan anyway?" he asked.

Looking up, Henry explained, "Well, we could make a fire and try contacting the rangers by sending smoke signals. It's old-fashioned, but it might work. And those sheets Bigfoot gave us will help making them be easier."

"That doesn't sound like a bad idea," said Suzie. "Why don't we try it?"

"Because it's a risky move," Henry noted. "There's a good chance those hunters might see the signals before the rangers do and zero in on us."

"I say we try it anyway," Flip insisted.

"Me too," Suzie nodded, "especially if it'll help the rangers find us faster."

Though hesitant, Henry decided, "Alright, we'll try it. But to be on the safe side, we won't sleep here. We'll send a few signals for a while, then put out the fire and sleep somewhere else. Then we'll try the smoke signals again in the morning."

"Well, I insist we get started," Tom suggested. "It'll be dark soon."

The Chan children immediately put Henry's plan into action. After building a fire, they used one of their bed sheets and sent puffs of smoke into the sky. When an hour went by and no one came, the fire was put out and the Clan went off to find a safe place to sleep.

The sun soon started to set, but the children had found no cave to rest in this time. Since it was large enough, Alan figured they could use one of their sheets to make a tent. Once nighttime came, all ten children, as well as Chu-Chu, were sound asleep.

Hours later, someone started approaching the Clan's tent. The snapping sound of a twig being stepped on had awakened Chu-Chu. Sensing someone was outside the tent, he growled defensively.

Anne woke up to Chu-Chu's growling. "Hey, Chu-Chu. What's up?"

Rustling sounds from the bushes were suddenly heard. "What was that?" Anne gasped.

The curious tomboy crawled over to peek outside of the tent, but saw nothing. Wanting to be certain, Anne chose to go outside to look.

Alan, who had also awakened to Chu-Chu's growl, noticed this. "What are you doing?" he asked.

"I thought I heard something," Anne whispered. "I'm gonna check it out."

"Aren't you forgetting your walking stick, Grandmother Willow?" her brother joked.

"Ha-ha. Not funny," an annoyed Anne grumbled. "Just wait here. I'll be right back."

Standing the best she could, Anne walked out the tent.

"See anything, Anne?" Alan asked.

There was no response. "Anne?" Alan got up and walked outside the tent. His tomboy sister had vanished. "Ugh! This is why I say she should wear a tracking collar."

Chu-Chu whined, showing his deep concern.

Alan petted his worried dog. "Don't worry, Chu-Chu. I'll go look for her. Without her stick, little Miss Hop-Along couldn't have gone far. You wait here."

Chu-Chu went back inside the tent while Alan walked into the woods to search for his sister. Unknown to the young inventor, Anne, with her mouth being covered, was being carried off by the bull-masked man several yards away.

Back at the Chan Clan's tent, Chu-Chu continued to wait for Anne and Alan's return when suddenly he heard more rustling coming from the bushes. Not wishing to wake up the remaining Chans, Chu-Chu went out to investigate the sound himself this time.

"Yipes!" Chu-Chu was seized by an unknown figure.

His yelp startled and awakened young Mimi. "Chu-Chu?"

Henry and Stanley, too, woke up to their dog's cry.

"Hey," Stanley yawned, "what's going on?"

"Chu-Chu's gone!" Mimi bawled.

Tom had also woken up and said, "He's not the only one. Alan and Anne are missing as well."

"Maybe they went out to pick flowers. Heh-heh-heh!" Stanley jested.

Henry shook his head, obviously irritated. "Knock it off with the jokes, dum-dum! Let's just find them before…"

"Someone else does?" a voice finished Henry's sentence.

The Chans' tent was removed from over them, waking the rest of the sleeping children.

The voice was revealed to have came from…the camper, Will.

"Well, well," he sneered. "So our mystery friend was right about you kids being up here."

A terrified Nancy gasped, "It's that Will person!"

The second camper, Sam, appeared next to his partner. In one hand, he held Chu-Chu. In another hand, he held a hunting knife close to the Pekingese in a threatening position.

"Chu-Chu!" Mimi cried.

"That's right," Will demanded, "and unless you want this pooch to become someone's new hat, you kids will do as you're told."

"Wham bam, we're in a jam," Stanley said.


	16. Animal Rescuers

**Chapter 16: Animal Rescuers**

Deep inside the forest, Alan was still searching for his missing younger sister.

"Forget a tracking collar," he thought to himself. "That girl needs a leash."

Before Alan could look any further, he heard a growl come from behind him. "Please tell me that's Anne in another one of her 'I'm-gonna-bop-you-one' moods."

Nervously, Alan turned around to find the mother bear sitting and staring at him. Backing up slowly, he tried reasoning with her. "Easy, easy, Mama Bear. No need to rip me to shreds. J-J-Just let me find my sister and I'll be out of your forest."

The mother bear merely just turned away and walked in a different direction. She then stopped, looked at Alan, and pointed straight ahead of her.

Alan guessed, "Are you telling me to follow you?"

The mother bear nodded and walked on. Though unsure, Alan went with her.

Back at the campsite, the two hunters had the rest of the Chan Clan in three separate cages. Henry and Stanley were in one, Suzie, Tom, and Flip were in another, and the three youngest, along with Chu-Chu, were in the third.

"If I recall, there were ten kids," Will remembered. "Two are missing."

"Maybe they went off in them woods somewhere," thought Sam.

"Well, let's find'em," the lead hunter commanded, "and when we get back, there's gonna be a little forest fire with ten unfortunate children caught in the middle. Then we can recapture the animals we've lost without worrying about anyone meddling."

The villains both grabbed their hunting knives and Sam turned to grab a set of keys. "The other two brats might come back while we're gone. Better not leave these behind this time."

The hunters trekked on into the woods after the missing Chan children.

"Maybe the smoke signals were a bad idea, after all," said Stanley.

His elder brother strongly disagreed, "I don't think so. Will said something about a 'mystery friend' telling them where we were."

"You mean someone ratted us out?" asked Flip.

"That's exactly what I mean," Henry replied. "But who?"

Back in the forest, Anne was lying against a tree after having been bound and gagged by her captor. Not too far away, the bull-masked man, using binoculars, watched the rest of the Chan Clan discuss their situation within their cages.

"One is missing," the fiend mumbled to himself.

While the masked crook continued to look on, Anne attempted to crawl away. Unfortunately, her injured foot prevented her from being able to get far despite her legs being untied.

The bull-masked man noticed this unsuccessful attempt to escape. "Perhaps I should wrap up those legs, just to be sure."

As he walked past her to fetch more rope, Anne, using her non-injured left foot, tripped him to slow him down.

Not only did this small prank cause the crook to plummet to the ground, but the fall caused his mask to fall off, revealing his true identity…the famous athlete, Neil Lockster!

Anne couldn't believe her eyes.

"You shouldn't have done that," the unmasked scoundrel snarled. "You see, the idea was to just distract your dad and keep you out of the archery tournament. But now that you've seen my face, I'll have to silence you."

Carrying Anne in his arms, Lockster walked further into the forest until he approached a steep cliff.

Holding the helpless girl over his head, ready to toss her, Lockster revealed his motive. "It's nothing personal, cutie…Well, actually, it is. Your skills are pretty good for a rookie and I really do enjoy a good challenge, but if I lost to a girl at a sporting tournament, that would make me a laughing stock to the guys."

With that said, the arrogant athlete threw his arms down…but nothing went over the cliff. Anne had disappeared.

Confused, Neil looked all around him. Eventually, he turned around and gasped in shock.

Behind him was the mother bear carrying Alan and a now untied Anne on her back.

With one hit on the head with her mighty bear paw, she knocked Neil unconscious.

"Is there even the slightest chance you won't rub this rescue in my face later?" Anne asked her brother.

"Nope," Alan quickly smirked.

"Oh, just thought I'd ask," Anne sighed as she face palmed. She then looked down at her abductor. "Huh. It's almost a shame, really. Now I won't be able to see the look on his face if I win the tournament."

Hastily, the mother bear's adorable cubs arrived and ran up to their mother. One of the cubs was carrying Anne's bow and arrows in its mouth. It reached up to give them to her.

"Hey, thanks, but what did you tykes bring this out for?" Anne asked as she reached down to take her sporting goods.

The other cub pointed back into the woods, in the direction of the Chan Clan's camping site.

"I'm guessing something important is happening back that way," Alan assumed.

"Well, then," Anne declared, "that way we go."

Riding the mother bear, Alan and Anne, while carrying their unconscious nemesis with them, followed the cubs back into the woods.

Meanwhile, the remaining eight Chan children were still trying to figure out how to free themselves.

Just when all hope seemed lost, a hairy hand reached out to Nancy, presenting her with flowers.

"Hey!" Nancy perked up. "My pretty blue flowers! I thought I lost these."

Nancy looked up to see an old familiar face. "Bigfoot!"

The Chans were all greatly pleased to see their hairy friend again. Surprisingly, he didn't come alone.

The wolf pack, along with several other animals that were rescued by the four middle children, also emerged from the bushes.

"But, Bigfoot," Nancy asked, "how did you and the other animals get over that mountain so fast and catch up to us?"

Bigfoot grunted to answer.

"Oh," Nancy translated. "There was another path inside the mountain that lead to the other side, but only animals could take it."

Bigfoot nodded.

"Hey, Bigfoot?" Flip asked. "You think you can spring us from these cages?"

Bigfoot stared at the cage containing Nancy and her younger siblings for a while. Abruptly, with a grunt, he grabbed the bars with his bare hands and bent them open, freeing the children.

The three youngest cheered as Bigfoot freed the rest of the Clan in the same manner.

Right after stepping out of his cage, Stanley asked, "Uh, so what do we do now?"

Flip pounded his fist in his hand. "I say we nab those poachers!"

"Yeah, nab those poachers," Scooter nodded.

"But how?" Mimi asked her eager elder brother.

Henry swiftly came up with a plan. "With help from our animal friends, that's how."


	17. Hunt the Hunters

**Chapter 17: Hunt the Hunters**

Later within the woods, the hunter, Sam, was still searching for Alan and Anne when he heard a girlish call. "Yoo-hoo!"

Far over to his right, Suzie was seen waving at him. "How'd she get out?!" the henchman asked himself. He ran towards the eldest Chan sister. Much to his dismay, he found out she wasn't alone. The moment he got near Suzie, the wolf pack appeared from behind her, ready for vengeance.

In a state of panic, Sam ran with the wolves chasing after him. Without warning, Chu-Chu appeared in front of him wearing his yellow dragon mask, roaring and growling. With him was the small wolf pup, wearing a dragon-shaped mask made from grass and mud. Petrified, Sam ran off in a different direction.

Next, Mimi and Scooter appeared, riding a male and female deer, and charged towards Sam.

Terrified, the mustached hunter headed back to the campsite. At that moment, Tom, aided by a pair of beavers, pushed a log in front of him, causing Sam to trip and roll on the ground, right into an empty cage. Henry and Stanley closed and locked the cage right behind him.

"Lucky thing they left behind plenty of spare cages for us to use," Stanley laughed.

A gunshot was heard.

Out of the blue, Will came holding a rifle, forcing Tom, Henry, and Stanley against the trees.

"Okay, I believe I played nice long enough," fumed the villain. "I think I'll just finish you pesky kids off one by one."

Will took aim on the three boys, but before he could fire, Bigfoot, with Nancy and Flip riding on his shoulders, grabbed his rifle and crushed it with just one hand.

The poacher could not believe what he was seeing. He was actually glimpsing at the legendary Bigfoot. Due to the loss of his rifle, Will pulled out his hunting knife to fight back.

Before he could use his weapon, however, an arrow was fired at the knife, knocking it from the criminal's hand. The arrow was revealed to have been fired by Anne, who had just arrived with Alan, both still riding on the mother bear. With them, came the bear cubs dragging along the unconscious and tied-up Neil Lockster.

Mimi and Scooter soon arrived riding the deer along with Suzie and the wolf pack as well as the now unmasked Chu-Chu and wolf pup.

Surrounded and unarmed, Will attempted to flee, but was promptly grabbed by Bigfoot. The large creature marched over to one of the cages that previously contained some of the Chan children and threw Will inside. Afterwards, he closed the bars, preventing the illegal hunter from escaping.

"And this caper has been wrapped up!" Flip cheered.

Expeditiously, Tom noticed the captor Alan, Anne, and the bear family brought with them. "Hey, isn't that the athlete we met at the Indian Festival?"

"What's he doing here?" asked Suzie.

"It's a long story," sighed Alan as he helped Anne climb off the mother bear.

Before an explanation could be given, everyone heard the sound of a horn beeping from a vehicle.

"What's that?" asked Mimi.

"Hey, look!" Scooter pointed to two sets of headlights. "Cars are coming!"

Knowing what that meant, Bigfoot let Flip and Nancy down from his shoulder. He gave Nancy one final hug and ran off into the woods. Nancy wiped a tear from her eye and waved, "Bye, Bigfoot." Flip placed his hand on his sister's shoulder, offering comfort.

The wolf pup cuddled Suzie's leg once more before he and his family also went back into the forest.

Saying goodbye, the mother bear cuddled against Anne while her cubs did the same to Alan, then they, too, headed back into the forest, followed by the other animals.

Once all the forest creatures were gone, two Jeeps pulled up to the ten children carrying forest rangers…and their father, Charlie Chan!

"Pop!" the children joyfully yelled.

Mimi and Scooter were the first to run and greet their father.

"Pop!" Mimi tearfully smiled. "Oh, we missed you!"

"And I have missed you all greatly as well, Mimi," Charlie replied. "I'm glad you're all alright."

Chu-Chu barked excitedly. "I missed you, too, Chu-Chu," the detective chuckled.

"Hey," one of the rangers said, "isn't that the illegal hunter, William Gamesfield? Don't tell me you kids caught him!"

The Chan Clan all smiled proudly, making it pretty obvious.

"Was that also you who sent the smoke signals earlier?" asked the second ranger.

"We sure did!" Scooter happily responded.

"My children still continue to surprise me," Charlie complimented.

Alan pointed to the comatose athlete. "We also caught a little something extra."

"Who's that?" the first ranger questioned.

Not surprisingly, the famous detective already knew who it was. "I believe that would be the counterfeiter's accomplice, as well as my children's kidnapper. I will explain it all on the way, Ranger."

With the three apprehended villains riding with one ranger in a Jeep and the Chan family riding with another ranger in the second Jeep, they drove off. The Chan Clan took one final look behind them and saw Bigfoot and their animal friends watching them leave. They waved a final goodbye to their furry companions as they rode off into the night.


	18. Musical Afternoon

**Chapter 18: Musical Afternoon**

Two days later, it was the second to last day the Chan family were going to spend in Alaska before catching a plane home the next day.

The family was spending the afternoon attending a Music Festival, which was where the archery tournament was being held.

As it got later, Charlie Chan took a casual stroll around, seeing what his children were doing.

He first found Flip and Nancy sitting at a picnic table with Chu-Chu near them. Flip was polishing a brand new trumpet he won at a booth while Nancy was eating a bag of cotton candy. Chu-Chu was feasting on a box of dog biscuits that was won for him at another booth.

"Mmm," Nancy slurped. "Those forest berries were good, but they can't beat good ol' city food."

Chu-Chu, while still eating, barked, "Ruh-huh!"

Scooter walked by dining on a banana split ice cream in a bowl.

"Scooter Chan!" shouted the strict Mimi as she walked up to her little brother. "What have I told you about eating so many sweets? That's not good for you."

"You better quit telling me what to do!" Scooter huffed.

Nancy and Flip looked on as their younger siblings got in yet another argument.

"Should we break that up?" Nancy asked her elder brother.

"Eh!" Flip shrugged. "Maybe later. Besides, why mess with nature?"

Seeing that his four youngest children were doing fine, Charlie continued his walk. He eventually found his four middle children sitting on a bench while watching Henry and Stanley play basketball at a booth.

"How are you doing, children?" the polite father asked.

Henry paused to answer, "Great, Pop."

"You won't be if I get the prize scoring higher than you," Stanley laughed, provoking Henry to resume playing.

A relieved Suzie stretched her arms and sighed, "Oh, how I've missed being back in civilization."

An annoyed Anne, while holding a large first place trophy cup, muttered, "Yeah, you made that perfectly clear when you went on that crazy shopping trip to the mall yesterday."

"Hey," Suzie countered, "after spending days looking at wildlife, can you blame me for wanting to spend a few hours looking at new clothes again?"

Charlie chuckled as Anne, Alan, and Tom groaned irately to their elder sister's comment.

"So, Anne," the detective asked, "how is your foot feeling?"

Anne looked at her now properly bandaged foot. "Fine, Pop. Though I wish I wasn't stuck wearing this lame ol' walking boot for another two weeks."

"Sorry, Anne, but those were the doctor's orders," the caring father reminded. "And at least it didn't prevent you from participating in the archery tournament."

"That's true," Anne smiled.

"I still don't understand why you refused the crutches the doctor offered you, though," Tom wondered.

Looking at the walking stick Alan made her, Anne replied, "Well…I just like the stick better for some reason."

"Obviously not as much as you like that trophy you won at the tournament," Alan joked.

Anne held onto her trophy even tighter. "Hey! I just wanna make sure I don't lose it!" Something puzzling quickly caused the tomboyish girl to change the subject. "You know, it still surprises me that that Neil character had absolutely nothing to do with the counterfeiting."

"Yeah," Alan added. "All he cared about was looking good at the archery tournament."

"And the hotel butler was an old college friend of his," Suzie further explained. "He made a deal with Lockster saying he could keep Anne out of the tournament if he'd help distract Pop from the counterfeiting case by kidnapping and dumping us in that forest, knowing there were dangerous poachers there."

Tom continued, "And as a bonus, he'd receive a quarter of Mr. Frank's counterfeiting money."

Henry and Stanley had finished their game, with Henry winning and earning a new basketball as a prize. Joining in on their younger siblings' conversation, Stanley said, "But now those two and the poachers are right where they belong."

"In the cooler," Flip said as he arrived with Chu-Chu and the rest of the youngest Chan children.

"Yeah, Chief, in the cooler," Scooter again agreed with his brother.

On a concert stage, after a rock band had just finished performing, the DJ went over to the loudspeaker to announce the next group. "That was crazy, huh? Now up next is the Chan Clan Band!"

"Hey, we're on," said Henry to his siblings. "Let's go!"

With Stanley, Henry went on ahead.

"Hey, Annie," Alan asked as he teasingly tapped his sister's head, "you think you can let go of that cup long enough to perform with us?"

"I'm ready when you are, hippie-boy," Anne retorted.

"I'll hold the trophy for you, Anne," Charlie offered. "But remember to sit in that chair on the stage while you perform, for you foot's sake."

Anne passed her well-earned prize to her father and grabbed her walking stick. "Sure, Pop. I will." Along with the rest of the middle children, Anne followed Henry and Stanley onto the stage.

With Henry on the drums, Stanley and Anne each playing guitars, Suzie playing two tambourines, Alan playing the oboe, and Tom playing the trombone, the group formed the Chan Clan Band and played their old song _"I Got My Eye On You_."

The crowd cheered wildly, Charlie Chan and his four youngest applauded happily.

"Boy, those kids are great," a kid from behind Charlie complimented.

"Hey, aren't those the kids who caught them wanted poachers days ago?" his friend asked.

"Hey, yeah!" the kid replied. "They caught those two loonies who were rambling on about Bigfoot. Can you believe it? Grown men still believing in Bigfoot! Ha!"

Overhearing the conversation, Nancy and Flip couldn't help but silently laugh at their obliviousness to the truth.

THE END


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